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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3.6 Max Preview vs GPT-5.1

GPT-5.1 comes out ahead, 60 to 54 on our weighted score, though Qwen3.6 Max Preview is 15% cheaper per token.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.6 Max Preview

    Released Apr 20, 2026

    54/100
    • ECI149.2
    • Price$1.30 / $7.80
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.6 Max Preview
  2. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-5.1

    Released Nov 13, 2025

    60/100
    • ECI149.7
    • Price$1.25 / $10.00
    • Context400K
    Full specs Remove GPT-5.1

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT-5.1 is our pick

GPT-5.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against Qwen3.6 Max Preview (54). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Qwen3.6 Max Preview wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-5.1Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.1 149.7 · Qwen3.6 Max Preview 149.2
  • Lowest priceQwen3.6 Max PreviewQwen3.6 Max Preview $2.92 · GPT-5.1 $3.44 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-5.1GPT-5.1 400,000 · Qwen3.6 Max Preview 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-5.1Qwen3.6 Max Preview: Text · GPT-5.1: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3.6 Max PreviewGPT-5.1
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%7778
Price25%2824
Inputs & features15%3570
Context window10%3744
Overall100%54/10060/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Qwen3.6 Max Preview vs GPT-5.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3.6 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen)GPT-5.1OpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)149.2149.7 (best)
ECI rank#54 of 148#52 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions87.4%87.6% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics91.1% (best)88.6%
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues76.7% (best)68.0%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions52.0% (best)48.0%
Price per million tokens
Input$1.30$1.25 (best)
Output$7.80 (best)$10.00
Cached input$0.13$0.125 (best)
Blended (3:1)$2.92 (best)$3.44
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial OpenAI API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens400,000 tokens (best)
Max output65,536 tokens128,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYeslow · medium · high
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDqwen3.6-max-previewgpt-5.1
API providers1021 (best)
ReleasedApr 20, 2026Nov 13, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025Sep 30, 2024
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Qwen3.6 Max Preview$28.60
  • GPT-5.1$32.50
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3.6 Max Preview or GPT-5.1?

GPT-5.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 60/100 against Qwen3.6 Max Preview (54). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Qwen3.6 Max Preview wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Qwen3.6 Max Preview or GPT-5.1?

Qwen3.6 Max Preview is cheaper at $1.30 input / $7.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). GPT-5.1 costs $1.25 input / $10.00 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $2.92 per million tokens for Qwen3.6 Max Preview versus $3.44 for GPT-5.1 (1.2× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-5.1 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.1 149.7 (#52 of 148) and Qwen3.6 Max Preview 149.2 (#54 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (148.3–151.1 vs 147.6–152.0), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-5.1 87.6%, Qwen3.6 Max Preview 87.4%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Qwen3.6 Max Preview 91.1%, GPT-5.1 88.6%; SWE-bench Verified — Qwen3.6 Max Preview 76.7%, GPT-5.1 68.0%; SimpleQA Verified — Qwen3.6 Max Preview 52.0%, GPT-5.1 48.0%.

Which is better for coding?

Qwen3.6 Max Preview resolves more real GitHub issues on SWE-bench Verified: Qwen3.6 Max Preview 76.7% and GPT-5.1 68.0%. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

GPT-5.1 has the largest context window at 400,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3.6 Max Preview. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.6 Max Preview up to 65,536, GPT-5.1 up to 128,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3.6 Max Preview accepts text; GPT-5.1 accepts text and images. GPT-5.1 handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Qwen3.6 Max Preview and GPT-5.1 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Qwen3.6 Max Preview is the newest, released Apr 20, 2026. GPT-5.1 came out Nov 13, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3.6 Max Preview Apr 2025, GPT-5.1 Sep 30, 2024.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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